5 Common Causes of Blocked Drains and How to Prevent Them

Posted by Melbourne Blocked Drains Plumbing on 19 Apr 2026

Blocked drains are an inconvenience that can disrupt your daily life. They can lead to smelly water damage, bad smells and even health hazards. If not promptly dealt with blocked drains may cause serious problems in your plumbing system, leading to costly repair or even replacement.

Key Takeaways

  • The blockage of drains can affect your routine and result in water damage, bad smells and even health dangers.
  • Grease, oil and fat buildup can accumulate on the walls of pipes causing blockages; avoid pouring grease down the drain or use hot water and soap to wash dishes.
  • Tree roots naturally extend into the earth to seek nutrients, which could cause serious damage and completely block pipes that can lead to flooding. Regularly maintain the trees surrounding drainage systems by trimming them.
  • Flushing non-biodegradable items like wet wipes, sanitary towels and so on. can cause unpleasant smells emanating around toilets/bin areas; be sure to use toilet paper to flush down toilet.
  • Hair

In this article, we will explore five causes of blocked drains and the best way to avoid them.

Cause 1. Grease, Oil and fat buildup

Fat, grease and oil may appear like harmless materials to flush down the drain, but over time they accumulate within the wall of the pipes, creating the pipes to become blocked. When this occurs then water cannot flow freely through the drainpipes. It is best to avoid pouring grease down the drain or make use of hot water and soap while cleaning dishes since it can help remove greasy substances.

Cause 2. Tree Roots

In time, the tree roots naturally extend into the ground in search of nutrients, which implies that they expand toward underground pipes. Once they’re inside, the tree roots can cause massive damage and even block them, causing flooding. It is therefore essential if you have trees in the vicinity that you maintain their growth around drainage systems, by trimming the trees regularly.

Cause 3: Flushed items

It’s not difficult to conclude that flushing items that aren’t biodegradable like wet wipes, sanitary towels and so on. will not cause any major problems in the long run However, when a lot of these items go into toilets, they can accumulate pushing others aside which can create unpleasant smells around toilets/bin areas too! Make sure to remember what should be flushed away and what should not (i. that only toilet paper is to be flushed away).

Cause 4 Cause 4: Hair

Additional Information

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Are you experiencing a clogged toilet, blocked shower drain, overflowing drains or an issue with your kitchen sink? We can help you sort out your drain blockage problem quickly and provide the following services:

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Clearing blocked drains can be difficult and it’s best to get a professional plumbing service involved to tackle it for you, To get your blocked drain in Melbourne cleared today, contact Melbourne Blocked Drains Plumbing now and speak to one of our friendly team members.

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